A San Francisco television news crew was caught in the middle of a shootout between a pair of would-be thieves and a security guard hired to accompany a reporter.
KRON-TV reporter Jeff Bush was held up by two armed men while covering a story in San Francisco Friday evening. According to the station, thieves ordered Bush to hand over his equipment.
After complying with the robbers, a security guard assigned to the reporter opened fire on the men. One suspect was injured while attempting to flee.
Two men who claimed they were near the scene of the shooting turned up at a hospital a short time later. Police were questioning both as of Friday evening, according to KRON.
The reporter and security guard were not injured.
It’s a damn shame how unsafe it is becoming for street reporters in this market. Just ridiculous.
— Chris Filippi (@chrisfilippi) September 28, 2013
The incident was just the latest in a trend of aggravated robberies against television news crews in San Francisco.
In August, a KGO-TV crew was robbed at gunpoint while on assignment in nearby Oakland. Last November, a cameraman from CBS affiliate KPIX was injured during a live television report, and in June a thief stole a laptop from a news van belonging to FOX affiliate KTVU.
The incidents have prompted TV stations covering the San Francisco Bay Area to hire security guards when crews are dispatched to cover stories in neighborhoods considered to be dangerous.
KRON: Security guard fires at thieves targeting reporter
SFGate: Reporter targeted in San Francisco by armed robbers
